Oktoberfest Becomes Vegan-Friendly

Yes you read the title of this blog correctly. ABC News reported recently that Bavaria’s Oktoberfest, classically known “for copious amounts of beer and meat” is now offering vegan dishes and even vegan wines!

Although the call for more vegetarian and vegan options at the festival was made in part by foreign visitors, the number of vegetarians and vegans in Germany is also on the rise.

Currently “About 800,000 of the country’s seven million vegetarians forego all animal products, according to the Association of German Vegetarians (VEBU).” And this number is continuing to grow. Berlin, Germany’s capital, is now home to a growing number of vegan restaurants, shops and the world’s largest vegan grocery store chain.

“Vegan food is the best way to ensure that people of all religions, as well as those that don’t eat animal products out of conviction, aren’t excluded from the festivities,” said one festival vendor.

While this shift may not appear groundbreaking to most, to me it is a signal that change is in the air! And that even traditions steeped in animal consumption and use can evolve with time.

So while it's called "vegan" wine, essentially non-vegan wine is not even suitable for vegetarians as it uses dead animal products (although all dairy cows and layer chickens are slaughtered after their slavery terms as well).